In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved: KVM: x86/mmu: Ensure hugepage is in by slot before checking max mapping level… (CVE-2026-63807)
In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved: KVM: x86/mmu: Ensure hugepage is in by slot before checking max mapping level When recovering hugepages in the shadow MMU, verify that the base gfn of the shadow page is actually contained within the target memslot, *before* querying the max mapping level given the shadow page's gfn. Failure to pre-check the validity of the gfn can lead to an out-of-bounds access to the slot's lpage_info (which typically manifests as a host #PF because the lpage_info is vmalloc'd) if the guest creates a hugepage mapping (in its PTEs) that extends "below" the bounds of a memslot. When faulting in memory for a guest, and the size of the guest mapping is greater than KVM's (current) max mapping, then KVM will create a "direct" shadow page (direct in that there are no gPTEs to shadow, and so the target gfn is a direct calculation given the base gfn of the shadow page). The hugepage recovery flow looks for such direct shadow pages, as forcing 4KiB mappings when dirty logging generates the guest > host mapping size case. When the 4KiB restriction is lifted, then KVM can replace the shadow page with a hugepage. But if KVM originally used a smaller mapping than the guest because the range of memory covered by the guest hugepage exceeds the bounds of a memslot, then KVM will link a direct shadow page with a gfn that is outside the bounds of the memslot being used to fault in memory. The rmap entry added for the leaf mapping is correct and within bounds, but the gfn of the leaf SPTE's parent shadow page will be out of bounds. BUG: unable to handle page fault for address: ffffc90000806ffc #PF: supervisor read access in kernel mode #PF: error_code(0x0000) - not-present page PGD 100000067 P4D 100000067 PUD 1002a7067 PMD 10612f067 PTE 0 Oops: Oops: 0000 [#1] SMP CPU: 13 UID: 1000 PID: 757 Comm: mmu_stress_test Not tainted 7.1.0-rc1-48ce1e26eace-x86_pir_to_irr_comments-vm #341 PREEMPT Hardware name: QEMU Standard PC (Q35 + ICH9, 2009), BIOS 0.0.0 02/06/2015 RIP: 0010:kvm_mmu_max_mapping_level+0x79/0x2b0 [kvm] Call Trace: <TASK> kvm_mmu_recover_huge_pages+0x21b/0x320 [kvm] kvm_set_memslot+0x1ee/0x590 [kvm] kvm_set_memory_region.part.0+0x3a1/0x4d0 [kvm] kvm_vm_ioctl+0x9bf/0x15d0 [kvm] __x64_sys_ioctl+0x8a/0xd0 do_syscall_64+0xb7/0xbb0 entry_SYSCALL_64_after_hwframe+0x4b/0x53 RIP: 0033:0x7f21c0f1a9bf </TASK> Don't bother pre-checking the bounds of the potential hugepage, i.e. don't check that e.g. sp->gfn + KVM_PAGES_PER_HPAGE(sp->role.level + 1) is also within the memslot, as the checks performed by kvm_mmu_max_mapping_level() are a superset of the basic bounds checks. I.e. pre-checking the full range would be a dubious micro-optimization.
AI Analysis
Technical Summary
The vulnerability in the Linux kernel's KVM x86 MMU component involves improper validation when recovering hugepages in the shadow MMU. Specifically, the base gfn of a shadow page was not checked to confirm it lies within the target memory slot before determining the maximum mapping level. This flaw could lead to an out-of-bounds access of the memslot's lpage_info structure, typically causing a host page fault (#PF). The issue manifests when a guest creates a hugepage mapping that extends below the memslot bounds, causing KVM to link a direct shadow page with an out-of-bounds gfn. The patch corrects this by verifying the gfn is contained within the memslot prior to further processing, preventing invalid memory accesses in the host kernel.
Potential Impact
If exploited, this vulnerability can cause a host kernel page fault due to out-of-bounds memory access in the KVM shadow MMU code. This could lead to host instability or crashes when handling guest memory mappings involving hugepages that extend beyond memslot boundaries. There is no indication of code execution or privilege escalation from the provided data. No known exploits in the wild have been reported.
Mitigation Recommendations
A fix for this vulnerability has been implemented in the Linux kernel. Users should update to a kernel version that includes this patch. Since this is a kernel-level issue, remediation involves applying the official kernel update containing the fix. No additional mitigations are indicated or required beyond applying the patch.
In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved: KVM: x86/mmu: Ensure hugepage is in by slot before checking max mapping level… (CVE-2026-63807)
Description
In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved: KVM: x86/mmu: Ensure hugepage is in by slot before checking max mapping level When recovering hugepages in the shadow MMU, verify that the base gfn of the shadow page is actually contained within the target memslot, *before* querying the max mapping level given the shadow page's gfn. Failure to pre-check the validity of the gfn can lead to an out-of-bounds access to the slot's lpage_info (which typically manifests as a host #PF because the lpage_info is vmalloc'd) if the guest creates a hugepage mapping (in its PTEs) that extends "below" the bounds of a memslot. When faulting in memory for a guest, and the size of the guest mapping is greater than KVM's (current) max mapping, then KVM will create a "direct" shadow page (direct in that there are no gPTEs to shadow, and so the target gfn is a direct calculation given the base gfn of the shadow page). The hugepage recovery flow looks for such direct shadow pages, as forcing 4KiB mappings when dirty logging generates the guest > host mapping size case. When the 4KiB restriction is lifted, then KVM can replace the shadow page with a hugepage. But if KVM originally used a smaller mapping than the guest because the range of memory covered by the guest hugepage exceeds the bounds of a memslot, then KVM will link a direct shadow page with a gfn that is outside the bounds of the memslot being used to fault in memory. The rmap entry added for the leaf mapping is correct and within bounds, but the gfn of the leaf SPTE's parent shadow page will be out of bounds. BUG: unable to handle page fault for address: ffffc90000806ffc #PF: supervisor read access in kernel mode #PF: error_code(0x0000) - not-present page PGD 100000067 P4D 100000067 PUD 1002a7067 PMD 10612f067 PTE 0 Oops: Oops: 0000 [#1] SMP CPU: 13 UID: 1000 PID: 757 Comm: mmu_stress_test Not tainted 7.1.0-rc1-48ce1e26eace-x86_pir_to_irr_comments-vm #341 PREEMPT Hardware name: QEMU Standard PC (Q35 + ICH9, 2009), BIOS 0.0.0 02/06/2015 RIP: 0010:kvm_mmu_max_mapping_level+0x79/0x2b0 [kvm] Call Trace: <TASK> kvm_mmu_recover_huge_pages+0x21b/0x320 [kvm] kvm_set_memslot+0x1ee/0x590 [kvm] kvm_set_memory_region.part.0+0x3a1/0x4d0 [kvm] kvm_vm_ioctl+0x9bf/0x15d0 [kvm] __x64_sys_ioctl+0x8a/0xd0 do_syscall_64+0xb7/0xbb0 entry_SYSCALL_64_after_hwframe+0x4b/0x53 RIP: 0033:0x7f21c0f1a9bf </TASK> Don't bother pre-checking the bounds of the potential hugepage, i.e. don't check that e.g. sp->gfn + KVM_PAGES_PER_HPAGE(sp->role.level + 1) is also within the memslot, as the checks performed by kvm_mmu_max_mapping_level() are a superset of the basic bounds checks. I.e. pre-checking the full range would be a dubious micro-optimization.
CVSS v3.1
AI-Powered Analysis
Machine-generated threat intelligence
Technical Analysis
The vulnerability in the Linux kernel's KVM x86 MMU component involves improper validation when recovering hugepages in the shadow MMU. Specifically, the base gfn of a shadow page was not checked to confirm it lies within the target memory slot before determining the maximum mapping level. This flaw could lead to an out-of-bounds access of the memslot's lpage_info structure, typically causing a host page fault (#PF). The issue manifests when a guest creates a hugepage mapping that extends below the memslot bounds, causing KVM to link a direct shadow page with an out-of-bounds gfn. The patch corrects this by verifying the gfn is contained within the memslot prior to further processing, preventing invalid memory accesses in the host kernel.
Potential Impact
If exploited, this vulnerability can cause a host kernel page fault due to out-of-bounds memory access in the KVM shadow MMU code. This could lead to host instability or crashes when handling guest memory mappings involving hugepages that extend beyond memslot boundaries. There is no indication of code execution or privilege escalation from the provided data. No known exploits in the wild have been reported.
Mitigation Recommendations
A fix for this vulnerability has been implemented in the Linux kernel. Users should update to a kernel version that includes this patch. Since this is a kernel-level issue, remediation involves applying the official kernel update containing the fix. No additional mitigations are indicated or required beyond applying the patch.
Technical Details
- Gcve Source
- db.gcve.eu
- Osv Id
- GHSA-xxf6-pvjr-qhj4
- Osv Schema Version
- 1.4.0
- Aliases
- ["CVE-2026-63807"]
- Ecosystems
- []
- Database Specific Severity
- null
- Cvss Version
- null
Threat ID: 6a5d27ad2a4a8d59891315a0
Added to database: 07/19/2026, 19:38:21 UTC
Last enriched: 07/19/2026, 20:19:18 UTC
Last updated: 07/20/2026, 19:41:22 UTC
Views: 11
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